Jackson’s Blue
Ribbon Pub at the new Brewhouse Inn and Suites (www.brewhousesuites.com)
sounds like a corner tap that might serve up a fish fry and some
sandwiches. Although it is on the corner of the block, it’s not just
any neighborhood tavern. It’s a swanky, historically restored pub in
what used to be the original brewhouse of Pabst Brewery. Once an
eyesore like the rest of the brewery grounds that sat vacant for more
than decade, it’s been lushly restored to vital landmark status.

The pub itself
boasts tall ceilings, exposed Cream City brick and a gorgeous bar with
plenty of flat screen TVs. But it also features some timeless
historical details like the Carnegie Steel stamps on columns. There’s
a nice patio where you can enjoy one of the 13 Wisconsin brews on tap.
There’s also a beautiful little alcove above a set of the original
metal stairs where a private table is set up for special occasions
like anniversaries or proposals. The food is good, standard pub fare
— the portobella mushroom sandwich quite delights. If you go, be
sure to take a detour through the hotel’s lobby. The front desk is
made up of thousands of Pabst bottles, the ceilings are the copper
tops of the original brew kettles, and on the second floor, you can
see an original stained glass window of King Gambrinus, patron saint
of brewing. "The area’s really coming back to life," says
Peter Northard, general manager of the hotel.

While the old
Follansbee block where the new downtown Marriott just opened isn’t
as historically significant as the Pabst Brewery — at different
times through history it was a bakery, the city’s largest dealer of
chandeliers and light fixtures, and a Mad Men-esque women’s shop
called Smartwear Emma Lange — the Millioke Restaurant (www.marriott.com)
is sure to become a dining destination. With chef Patrick Taylor at
the helm, this new restaurant focuses on all things Wisconsin —
specifically meat, cheese and beer. Taylor recommends the
tallow-brushed New York strip steak. "We strip the fat off the
steak, render it down with garlic and herbs, and it turns into almost
meat butter," Taylor says.

Jackson's Blue
Ribbon Pub

Taylor worked
with the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board to set up an all-Wisconsin
artisan cheese plate. Twelve different cheeses, with a variety of cow’s,
goat’s, sheep’s and mixed milks, will be featured, and the cheeses
will change periodically. Several Carr Valley cheeses will be
highlighted, as well as some limited edition cheeses from Sartori.
(This particular cheese author recommends getting the Bellavitano —
any Bellavitano — as it’s an addictive sort of blend of cheddar
and Parmigiano-Reggiano.)

Twenty beers —
most of them local brews — are on tap, and there’s also an
all-American wine list, as well as a specialty cocktail list featuring
the local likes of Great Lakes Distillery. "We incorporate as
many local products as we can, even in the drinks," Taylor says.
Particularly noteworthy are the brandy old-fashioned and the Bloody
Mary, which has house-made Mary mix and is garnished "with
everything in the kitchen."

Speaking of
everything, the new Blaze Pizza (www.blazepizza.com) in Brookfield
will be offering a pizza with everything — and we do mean,
everything — for only $7.45. Blaze, which is sort of like a Panera
for pizza, offers fast, fire-blazed pizza with 40 different artisan
toppings. The pizzas are assembled by hand, a la Chipotle or Qdoba,
fast-fired for 120 seconds, then served. You can get a 12-inch cheese
pizza for $5, a one-topping pizza for $1 more, and unlimited toppings
for $7.45; the toppings range from Gorgonzola and Ricotta cheese to
applewood-smoked bacon and arugula.

Blaze also
boasts several signature pizzas and sauces — pesto, red, white and
barbecue, among others. Blaze has a gluten-free crust for those who
can’t stomach the wheat. The Green Stripe includes chicken, pesto,
arugula, roasted red peppers, garlic and mozzarella. Blaze is expected
to open in September with several other Milwaukee locations to follow.

Portobella
Pizzeria only has one location — Port Washington — but it’s
already gaining a following throughout Ozaukee County. For $3, this
little pizzeria will deliver all over the county. Owner and
all-around-pizzamaker Izzo Jonuzi specializes in traditional
thin-crust pizzas. He makes homemade sauce and dough from scratch; all
of the mozzarella is grated in-house, too. As the name suggests,
Jonuzi does offer portobella mushrooms as a topping, as well as
regular shrooms, too. "The most popular pizza is the one with
everything — I give you the works — pepperoni, sausage, all the
vegetables," the former Floridian says. "Oh, yeah, that’s
good pizza."

Enjoy the tastes
of summer at Lucky Joe’s Tiki Room (www.luckyjoestiki.com). This
Walker’s Point tiki bar not only makes delicious, traditional tiki
drinks like the Mai Tai and the Zombie (they keep a running tab over
the bar of the number of patrons who order this drink), but its
mixologists are forever coming up with creative and creatively named
drinks. Last spring they unveiled Fanny The Hipster Meets a Roomful of
Sharks, a delicious honey twist on the classic daiquiri. This summer
they debuted Lethal Lovin’ From A Stranger Named Esteban, or Lucky
Joe’s version of a rum old-fashioned. The drink starts with a block
of ice that is put into a metal contraption called an ice sphere
maker. The combination of heat and pressure turns an imperfect block
into an absolutely perfect sphere, the likes of which I’ve never
seen anywhere in Milwaukee. It’s a worthy drink to toast the dog
days of summer.